My Name is Reno
by Felix McKraken
Summary: A short story on what Reno has to say about his life, and the events which took place within the FF7 timeline.


**My Name is Reno**  
  
My name is Reno, and this is my story.  
  
I guess I should start from the beginning - back in the day when it all started. I was born on a cold, wet, odd day in March. It was a strange event from the moment I was concieved actually. The deal was that my dad, whoever that may be, somehow ripped the condom when he was with my mom and well..the rest is basically history. I was supposed to be an aborted child, but the craziest thing happened that day. I think they were doing one of the techniques where the baby was born, then killed, or something stupid like that. Anyway, I don't know the technical terms and don't really care - the point that I'm trying to make is that my mother birthed me and the doctors were going to do the whole needle brainsucking deal. Right at that exact moment they were going to begin, a crazed ten year old dressed as a pirate came running in screaming, "ARRR!!" He fought off the baby snatchers with a wooden sword and swooped me up with unreluctant grace and carried me away.  
  
I have no proof that any of that is true, but hey, it could have really happened, after all, I am here, aren't I? Anyway, one thing that is for real is that my mom called me "the little abortion that got away". I don't really like to talk about her cuz the bitch sent me to the orphange, but hell. Most of my growing up was....not uneventful, but I guess I'd rather not discuss it. The highlight of my entire life was when I heard the sweet words, "You're hired." I was a Turk from that moment on. This is probably were I developed my "attitude", but I think I've always been rebellious. Well, I guess I should talk about the most recent experiences in my life considering they haven't really been recorded as everything else has. Since Shinra's downfall I knew my life was screwed over as much as Rufus Shinra was on a Saturday night. Shinra became hated by the general population; they claimed that it was Shinra's doing that the whole entire Sephiroth-Meteor catastrophe came into being. I don't blame them, it's true. That's why I knew I had to cease all relations to my former employment. I did everything in my power to destory who I used to be for the sake of saving my life. It was horrible. I had to change my apperance completely and get the most degrading job for an ex-Turk.  
  
The most tragic action I had to take was the cutting of my hair. I know how silly that must sound, especially from a guy, but I really liked my ponytail. When I was alone, I'd toy with it, just twirl it in my fingers and stuff like that. Probably the only real feminine thing about me. At least, I think so. Anyway. After I cut it insanely short, sorta like that one AVALANCHE dude's...uh..what's his name..? Cid! Yeah...It was kinda like Cid Highwind's. And I had to dye it too. I liked my dark red hair, it was something that made me extremely unique, and I had to give it up to unnatural colors. By this I don't mean just dye, I mean hair color that wasn't natural. Green, purple, blue, pink, and once in awhile, silver. It was all the fluorescent colors on more than one occasion. Speaking of colors, I had to change my eyes as well. So I got the colored contacts...brown. Of all the colors, I chose brown. Sometimes I wondered if I was in my right mind. Well anyway, back to business. Oh yeah, my new job. Now, I would have enjoyed a self-respecting job such as a police officer, fireman, or maybe even a bus driver. But no...I got the lowest of lows for an ex-Turk.  
  
I worked construction.  
  
Actually, right now, I'm kind of proud of it, because I've helped build some pretty fantastic stuff but...damnit! I look so different now...and it feels kind of cool to act as someone else but I don't want to do it forever. So I have lime-green, short hair, brown eyes, a tan, and a large muscular build. As opposed to my original dark-red, long hair, teal eyes, pale complexion, and extremely lithe form. Yuck. Well anyway...I worked with a passion and was well-liked with the crowd of workers. I was everyone's friend again, so I was having a blast. But I changed a lot inwardly as well. I stopped drinking for one. I couldn't believe I did it. I just suddenly didn't crave it anymore, like something snapped inside of me. I just didn't like drinking it so frequently. I gave up partying all together. I started reading. I threw away my punk, ska, and rap CDs. I bought classical ones in their place and began to teach myself how to play the piano. Playing things by ear can be extremely difficult. I also taught myself how to write with my right hand, so now I'm ambidextrous which is kind of cool. When I had the money, I bought a telescope once. I'm not sure why, but one thing I know for sure is that the stars are beautiful. With all this newfound free time I was able to sit around and think.  
  
I kept thinking about Rude because I wondered where he went. He was the only best friend I ever had so naturally I was concerned. I knew that he had been able to clear his name and worked as a librarian (the lucky bastard) for a short time. Actually, that would be one hell of a sight to see. But Rude's quiet so it fits, I suppose. I kept wondering about where the bastard went...kind of peeved me off because he left me. I guess that's the way things go...  
  
Elena...well. I'm not sure what happened to her. She escaped Midgar before the Anti-Shinra riots began, so I assume she is safe. Tseng has been long dead, and I miss him a lot. He was kind of an older brother to me, and it still hurts to talk about him. He wasn't that bad of a guy, really, if you got to know him. I know he acted like a jerk, and he usually went by the book, but every now and then though, he'd purposely let something slip, and on more than one occasion he'd convieniently look the other way. Tseng was by far one of the best superiors I had to report to.  
  
So on weekends I can't hang out with the guys or anything like that, I just sort of mope around the apartment. Sometimes I paint. I can't express myself verbally without being found out, and I don't really have a talent. So I just buy some cheap water colors, you know, the kind for kids, and have a blast. Usually just scenic stuff. Sometimes I'll paint abstract versions of things I've helped build. Some of the things were so fascinating I just had to get the schematics. Blueprints and house scales are amazing to look at and examine. Architecture is a form of art all in itself, I swear. I also took up the hobby of building small models. Mainly making those ships in a bottle. They're everywhere in my apartment. On tables, hung on the wall, in the bathroom, on the dressers, even on top of the fridge. I named them too, and though I do view them with pride, I won't subject anyone to the torture of listing them off.  
  
I do do other normal things, like go to the movies, or to the theatre. They still show Loveless, so I went and saw that. True, it's a love story, and true, I'm not a sucker for them, but seeing those people up on the stage in those elaborate outfits, and their stage makeup that makes them look like clowns at close range, and watching them become those characters they're supposed to be pretending to be - I could only appreciate the talent, and the dedication of these people, who wanted to tell a story as if it was actually happening. A reconstruction of real life drama, performed whenever we wanted it. Amazing, I must say. Simply amazing.  
  
I guess you could say I have appreciation for all that I have. Well, staring down Meteor will do that to you. After I realized that Shinra was down the tubes, I let Cloud and his heros go about their mission. They were trying to save the world, and all we had been doing was living in our own little disillusioned worlds where clothes made the man. I was living in my own little dream world, with my denial that gave me strength to do what was wrong. Deep down I really did like that motley crew: that spikey-headed jerk, the man with a gun for a hand, the girl Rude had a crush on, the Ancient, the talking beast, that ninja girl (even though she was annoying), that stuffed cat that was really Reeve, the pilot, and the ex-Turk. They weren't bad people, so when I could I let them off the hook, I did.  
  
Speaking of Reeve, he went public, but due to the fact that he was more of a spy for AVALANCHE against the Shinra instead of vice versa, he wasn't taken to court and prosectuted, but much rather the opposite. He never taddled on anyone in Shinra, except for a few, like Scarlet and Heideggar. Only the really guilty people, the ones who had no hope. At one point I was sitting in the court room. I wanted to see the guy again, I guess I was still clinging onto my past, and looking for a glimpse of that comfortable lifestyle I used to have. They asked him about the Turks, if he knew where they were at, you know. At this time, I didn't have my lime-green hair, or my brown eyes. He looked directly at me and told the court that Tseng had perished on mission while at the Temple of the Ancients, and the locations of the others were unknown, having gone missing during the Meteor crisis. I had never felt more indebted to a person, except perhaps Rude who's saved my life on a few occasions. But in a way, that was exactly what Reeve had done. And he had smiled at me, a warm, knowing smile. And I smiled back. I haven't seen him in person since, only hearing tidbits of information given by the news.  
  
Ever since Meteor, the media basically died. You don't have a flock of reporters cramming microphones in your face and practically up your nose, because the people are united and the system we have now, there isn't a variety of news groups. What we have now is a collabrative effort to ensure everyone has equal opportunity. Some things have changed, some things are different. The pros and cons weigh just about the same, but all in all, it's healthier. Not just for the mind and body, but for the spirit as well. Everyone's a lot friendlier, that is, until Shinra is mentioned. Society is such a double-edged sword. Almost makes me want to become a hermit if it wasn't for the fact that I'm such a social creature.  
  
The end of the world is sure a terrifying, but awe-striking sight. You look up at Hell's wrath and you feel all the important things in your life dwindle down to nothing, and all you're left is your bare instincts - that desperate need for survival. You think about all the crap you've done with your life, the meaningless trivial crap, and you think: I. Have. To. Live.  
  
Because staring down death makes you want to go out and live. To enjoy life, to live it to its fullest. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't want any other job than the one I have. I can point at something, and there is proof right there, that I accomplished something. That a part of me is immortalized in the object I helped create. And yeah, yeah, yeah, those buildings won't be around forever, but then again, nothing lasts forever. Not even diamonds, regardless of what they tell you. I'll become nothing more than a shadow memory, but then again, who ever makes it into the history books? One percent of the population? So I don't really care if I fade off and am forgotten, because I'm part of something bigger than all of us.  
  
I don't know what more to say, or whether it is worth saying. From here on, I'm uncertain of where I'm going, and what's going to happen. Maybe I'll be found out. Maybe I won't be. Maybe I'll find Rude or Elena. Or maybe they'll find me. Either way, it's uncertain. I could always call a psychic hotline and ask, but that takes the fun out of things. For now, I'll go on pretending that my adoptive father was really a crazed pirate who's only ten years older than me. For now, I'll dye my hair a different color every week, and go home and pick up another hobby, like knitting or some bullshit like that. There is hope for the future, and that's the only thing that is certain.  
  
My name is Reno, and this is my story. 


End file.
